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Hoosiers set to open season against No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) –  Indiana University football will  be on the national stage for their opening week matchup against the number two ranked team in the country, the Ohio Buckeyes. The game will be tough for the Hoosiers but no matter the outcome, the exposure will be tremendous for the school.

IU athletic director Fred Glass told 24-Hour News 8 he’s more than excited and the school is pulling out all the stops for this one. On top of that, ESPN’s Game Day will be in Bloomington as well.

Glass says he’s confident the game will be sold out so they are suggesting getting to the game extra early. Inside the stadium, ESPN’s Game Day will be live starting at 6 p.m. from inside the stadium. They don’t usually do that. That set up is normally reserved for college playoff games. Viewers may notice the construction in the south end zone. IU is in the middle of installing a student health and wellness center.

Plus, closing the bowl will make it louder and cooler. Glass says he hopes people will see the growth happening here.

“We are, I think,  in elite football company in the Big 10 East,” said Glass. “We play Michigan, Michigan State, Penn state, Ohio State every year and we want kids who want to come here, who want that challenge. They want to go to the horseshoe, they want to go to the big house. We recruit to this that if you want to play big boy football and be on prime time games come to Indiana. So I think this will underscore that.”

It’s also a sort of homecoming for Lee Corso. The school is presenting the former coach the Bill Orwig award for contributions to IU athletics.

Expect the stands to be filled Thursday night. The stadium can hold about 52,000 fans.

Jim Cornelison will sing the national anthem. The last time the IU alum  sang was last year when IU upset UNC men’s basketball at Assembly Hall.